Why do many programmers prefer oldfashion tools like NC or VIM to modern file managers and IDEs?

Question

I do understand why many use CLI - It provides more facilities and it is more flexible for particular tasks.

But why do many programmers prefer old-fashion tools like NC or VIM to modern file managers and IDEs that have user-friendly, nice-looking interface and provide same functionality?

Answer 1

Would those be the modern file managers and IDEs which suffer from feature-bloat, pictures which paint about 5 words, impossibility of operation from the keyboard, a strait-jacket for a specific development method, and blindness to anything other than object-oriented programming ?

Answer 2

IDEs are easier to learn, and faster to use when first learning. They're heavily dependent on the use of the mouse. "Old-fashioned" tools like Vi or Emacs are ultimately faster to use and a pleasure to work with once you've managed to embed their commands within your muscle memory. And there lies the trick. The idea is that you can use them without even lifting your hands from the keyboard. Mastering those lightweight tools is not easy, and it's a sort of a badge of honor for some people.

For an excellent introduction to the magic of vi (vim), I recommend the O'REILLY book 'Learning the vi' with the super weird animal (with two bulging eyes) on the cover.

As to using MidnightCommander (I think that's you meant by NC, MC not NC), I suppose that you might get a similar benefit out that tool I suppose assuming you knew its commands super well (but I'm not a fan of it, so I really don't know all of its capabilities).